The present invention relates generally to sliders for use in disc drives. In particular, the present invention relates to reducing or eliminating damaging contact between a slider and a disc in a disc drive.
During hundreds of thousands of slider load/unload operations in a disc drive, it is found that there will be a scratch or damage to the disc surface, sometimes referred to as a xe2x80x9cghostxe2x80x9d contact. These ghost contacts are believed to occur when a slider is misaligned relative to a disc surface or lands on a particle of contamination on the disc surface in the range of approximately 0.1-2 micrometers in diameter. These ghost contacts have a length that is typically approximately the length of the slider itself. These ghost contacts damage the disc and result in lost data.
A method and apparatus are needed to reduce or eliminate the damage due to these ghost contacts.
Disclosed are a disc drive slider and a method for making the slider. The slider can be rotatably attached to a suspension for flying over an air bearing layer.
The slider comprises a slider substrate that has sidewall surfaces that include side edge surfaces and a trailing edge surface. The slider also has an air bearing surface that includes a peripheral edge. A read/write head is deposited on the trailing edge surface.
The slider also includes one or more bars as a protection feature. The bar are disposed between one or more of the sidewall surfaces and the peripheral edge. The bar has a dull end that contacts the disc surface when the slider is misaligned with the disc surface. The bar prevents damaging contact between the peripheral edge and the disc surface.
These and various other features as well as advantages that characterize the present invention will be apparent upon reading of the following detailed description and review of the associated drawings.